Alone
by Sistemann
Summary: An expansion on the scene between Ugga and Guy, seeing as how they could have absolutely talked a bit more. Take this one-shot as... a more inside look and a deeper talk between the mother of the Croods, and the nomadic orphan that no one knows much about.


Disclaimer: I do not own _The Croods_.

_So I just, for the first time, watched the movie and was pretty astounded by the storyline and everything. My favorite movie, to date, has been How to Train Your Dragon (oddly enough, also a Dreamworks Production) and honestly, the Croods gave it a hard run. I like the similarities between the two, yet, there were obvious differences, too. It made the film feel... relate-able, almost. _

_Anyways, there are a lot of ends left untied by the end of the movie, and you know they are planning a sequel, so until then (since it'll be a long time) I hope this one-shot will kind of expand a bit into the relationship between Ugga and Guy, which is only hinted at when they're in the tree. That was one of my favorite scenes, and it had so much potential to just, expand their non-existent relationship. _

_Thus, I'm going to take it into my own hands and expand a bit on that. This is obviously something that never happened, so don't be too angry if I'm OOC. Oh, and also, I did not buy the movie on DVD, though I plan to, so if there is some deleted scene on this, or something, I'm sorry. That's honestly my bad! _

_Still, no flames, but I do proudly present to you, this... you know, one-shot. Enjoy!_

* * *

Maybe it was the story, or maybe, it was just the positive atmosphere of everyone having escaped the rocky maze, all on their own. Well, for the most part, anyways. To be honest, Guy didn't quite know _why _everything seemed... brighter, but he couldn't ignore the feeling, no matter how he tried.

Gran seemed insistent on talking about her 'once-love' that she experienced with some hunter, and Guy couldn't help but chuckle every so often. For cavemen, they seemed to learn... fast. It surprised Guy even now how fast they were adapting to his knowledge and ability to spontaneously think and create something the situation at hand called for.

His father had once called that trait, _adaptability. _He had said that if you could adapt, you could survive. Guy sighed to himself.

If only they had adapted to not... die...

"And then Torg said, 'knew it? I _drew_ it!'" Guy couldn't help but chuckle that once again escaped his mouth. For people who didn't understand 'jokes', they seemed to do quite well with them. Especially Gran.

Despite his attention focused on the jokes and stories, Guy vaguely heard the shuffling of leaves and felt the movement of his branch. He didn't turn- he knew who it was. Grug was still probably on the ground, and even if he wasn't, he was too much weight for the tree branch to hold. With Eep, Thunk, Sandy, and Gran all down below him, Guy knew there was only one person who could be coming his way.

Still; he didn't know what to say, regardless of knowing their identity, so he remained silent.

The woman who Guy had come to know as Eep's mother, sat next to him, a respectable distance away, but close enough to be able to feel friendly and welcoming toward him. Of all the Croods, Guy had to admit, Ugga Crood could sometimes be the friendliest. But perhaps, he thought, that had to do with the mother's instinct.

"I know it was hard for you to bring us along..." Ugga began. Guy finally broke his gaze away from the small circle of the story-telling to look at the mother Crood. Her tanned skin seemed darker in the dull illumination of the glowing tree, but her eyes seemed just as bright as they would in the sun. Her bangs now hung freely, as if turning her into a totally different person. "But... they had the best day of their lives."

Guy frowned slightly. "Best day of their lives?" He recited curiously.

Ugga nodded, her attention turned back on the circle of children and her mother. Her eyes seemed to reflect her caring mood, and Guy couldn't help the pang of pain that tightened in his chest as he remembered the very look in his own mother's eyes. Maybe it was a universal thing.

"Our lives are... _were... _pretty simple. Wake up, make sure it's safe, and... get food. It wasn't much to enjoy, if you were looking for excitement." Ugga snorted softly, her gaze settling on her adventurous daughter. "I'm sure you've heard all about that from Eep, though."

Guy chuckled; he surely had. In fact, Eep had made it no small deal when she finally felt comfortable enough to talk about her childhood. She had made it pretty simple- she hated it. She had been quite adamant on the fact that there was no fun, and nothing new in her life. It was like, she could never tell where one day ended and another began. If not for the dark, and cycle of the sun... she might not have been able to.

"I always thought new was bad," Ugga commented offhandedly. Her gaze shifted from the tree they now resided in, to the creature known as Belt, to her shoes that now comforted her feet. No matter where she looked, _new _was everywhere. The rules she had once been taught by Grug to live by, were now being violated by this place every second of the day.

Everywhere she looked, there was new.

"New is never bad," Guy finally said. "Some new things might be dangerous, or deadly, but... that doesn't make them _bad_. They just makes them something to keep a look out for."

Ugga looked at him oddly. "Wouldn't that make them bad, then?"

"Not really. I mean, to me, you guys are all new. And you can be..." Guy paused to consider his words and avoid offending the much stronger cave-woman. "Dangerous. But, you're not bad. And now that I know you, you're not even something to worry on. I can just... 'trust' you."

"Trust?"

Guy smiled and nodded. "Yeah. My mom, she said 'trust' is when you believe in someone, and you don't feel the need to... hide from them. You believe in them... like you believe in yourself."

Ugga smiled and looked at Guy. No matter how many times she looked him over, she always found something new to notice about him. Sometimes, it was the way he looked at Eep that made her, as a mother, almost coo as she noticed how his eyes seemed to soften for her in particular. Sometimes, it was his lean yet limber and still effective body, despite his being thinner than any of the Croods, minus Sandy. Then there was his particular drawings on his skin from berries.

So many things about this young man were interesting to the mother, yet, all of it came to the same thing- Guy was different. He was new.

But he wasn't bad.

"Your parents..." Ugga's voice turned into a low whisper. "I would have loved to meet them."

Guy looked at her with a blank face, but eyes filled with emotion. Surprise, pain and sorrow the three primary ones, but to Ugga, all she saw was the truth. She put a hand on Guy's lean shoulder and slowly stroked his arm, feeling the rough, but definitely softer skin slide under her calloused fingertips.

"You mean...?"

Ugga nodded slowly. "I'm a mother- I know these things."

Guy nodded once without saying any words. He didn't trust his voice to betray his feelings. One second, he knew he could be calm and not give anything away. The next, he knew it was only a matter of time before the tears rolled down his face and the memories come back.

That was exactly why he distanced himself at moments like these. That was why he was up on the branch while everyone else was down below, laughing and giggling up a storm. _Away from him_. He wasn't one of them- he wasn't a Crood.

"I miss them..." Guy mumbled. It was almost too quiet for Ugga to hear- but regardless, she heard it and her chest tightened. She wished there was something more she could do to comfort the boy in obvious distress, but she didn't know exactly what could make him feel better. She continued to stroke his arm, hoping the contact would alleviate his nerves. "So much..."

"They miss you, too." Guy glanced at her, his eyes shining dangerously bright. "I know they do."

Guy didn't say anything else for a few moments, and neither did Ugga. Neither had to.

"I know you might feel... 'alone' sometimes, but you're not."

That was a word he didn't know. "'Alone'?"

"When you don't have anyone, and you feel as if there's no one for you." Ugga smiled slightly. "You're not the only one who can make words up for feelings."

The corners of Guy's mouth twitched, but his face remained blank. That, however, did not deter Ugga from her sentiment. "You may not have a real family, anymore," Ugga said bluntly, "but you do have us. And Croods stick together."

This time, Guy couldn't help the ghostly smile that appeared on his lips. His eyes shone- but not with unshed tears. They shone with gratitude and thankfulness.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"No," Ugga said. "Thank you. You're trying to help us all survive. Without you, we'd be dead. You've given everyone here life. Thank you for that."

Before anything more could be said, a low rumbling overtook the serene sounds of the nature, and the unmistakeable sound of splitting rock filled the air with fear and the reminder that everyone was on a schedule to get to the mountain. Ugga and Guy exchanged a look before the mother jumped down to her children- but Guy strayed for one second.

_Because for the first time since his parents death, he didn't feel so alone._

* * *

_So this was more of a test than a huge attempt at something. I just wanted to see how I could portray the scene in emotion and also in trying to keep everyone in character. Honestly, there are problem some slips in there, but I think I'd get better with practice, and also, it's difficult not knowing what words are known by the Croods and which are not. I know they have a decent vocabulary, and Guy is rather intelligent (he is a cro-magnon) so I didn't want them to seem stupid or __too simplistic, but at the same time... you know, be kinda naive._

_Oh well, I'll just practice if people want me to. Until then, please, leave your feelings in the form of a review or favorite. If you didn't like it, I apologize, but I stand by the no flaming rule. Have a good holiday season everyone!_


End file.
